It was meant to be a walk in the park. But kindergarten children were shocked to tears when they came across a new outdoor sculpture with quite a bit of front.

The sculpture depicts a tiny girl with giant breasts, installed in a city park in Guangdong province, China. At just 20cm tall, the figure is dwarfed by breasts that are five metres high and five metres wide.

“The little girls were scared and cried loudly, asking me if they would grow those huge things,” said the kindergarten teacher. The boys in the group “laughed crazily.”

Parents have been equally concerned. “I have tried to educate (my son), but all he thinks when he sees the statue are smutty thoughts,” complained a local mother.

Another mother failed to see the sculpture as art, and suspected that her young son didn’t either. He used to enjoy being at one with nature, she cried. Now he’d rather be with the mammoth breasts.

The sculpture has been damaged - with one passer-by trying to fit it with a bra. But a park spokesman remains unrepentant: the giant breasts of China are here to stay, he says.